Zara McDermott admits stalking documentary 'changed her as a person completely' as she leaves BBC studios after opening up about the emotional impact of filming
The former Love Island star, 28, appeared on Morning Live to discuss her new documentary, To Catch A Stalker, which airs on BBC Three on Tuesday evening at 9pm.
Dealing with hard hitting and harrowing topics, Zara opened up about the emotional impact of filming and hearing the brutal effects of stalking on victims across the UK.
She explained: 'I think they [her documentaries] are all incredibly eye opening, harrowing to make and I really do immerse myself.
'I take every single emotion home with and these women become a big part of my life, they become friends.'
She continued: 'I become some sort of support system to them and they teach me so much and those relationships are so important to me.
Zara McDermott has admitted her stalking documentary 'changed her as a person completely' as she was seen leaving BBC studios after opening up about the emotional impact of filming on Morning Live on Tuesday
'It does stay with me for sure and it has changed me as a person completely.'
Previously Zara has spoken about several important topics in her documentaries including revenge porn, sexism, and 'rape culture' in UK schools as well as the rise of young people experiencing eating disorders.
And her latest programme sees her join and support victims who have been subjected to domestic abuse and stalking and expose how stalking brutally impacts the everyday lives of people across the UK.
She also follows the journey of those who decided to report the instances to the police and how the claims make their way through the judicial system.
Both instalments are already available to stream on BBC iPlayer and are packed with sobering accounts.
In one scene a 'heartbroken' Zara fought back tears when she heard the harrowing account of an anonymous woman who recounted how her ex-partner stalked her after she ended the relationship.
She recalled how at the start he was 'very charming, caring, I didn't even imagine there was another side to him'.
However, he would make her video call him '24 hours a day, every day, morning until night'.
When the woman ended the relationship things took a terrifying turn.
'The continuous harassment, being outside of my house every other day, he would cry his eyes out and make me feel bad,' she recalled.
Zara asked: 'Was he calling you and texting you?'
'He would call me more than 500 times a day and I would literally chuck my phone in some corner of my house,' the woman replied.
She appeared to get emotional as she described how 'he made me hate myself for being in that situation'.
The woman gestured a line across her neck with her hands as she recalled what he would do outside of her house, seeming to infer he was saying he would harm her.
'He didn't leave outside of my house for another five, six hours. I was terrified,' she added.
Zara commented: 'That breaks my heart, hearing that.'
The woman submitted video, calls and text messages to the police and revealed she would be giving a witness statement at court against him.
Zara asked the woman, 'How are you feeling through this?'
'Like I'm rubbish,' she replied, as Zara held her hand.
The reality star looked tearful as she continued to listen to the woman and said: 'You did not deserve any of that, you know that?'
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